van Noort Group is looking for PhD and Postdoctoral fellows We currently access an unprecedented knowledge on the basic components making up living systems. An ever growing number of new technologies are being developed with the capacity to systematically measure the behaviour of multiple cellular components, such as biochemical activities, biophysical properties, subcellular localization and interaction. These technologies produce large amounts of raw data that can be transformed into information by software and tools developed both in academia and industry. However, this biological information does not equal biological knowledge. As biology becomes large-scale, new methods have to be developed to integrate, visualize and query the large amounts of information available. This is usually beyond the expertise of experimental labs. The goal of this young computational systems biology group is to generate biological sense from the growing amount of biological data becoming available and turn biological information into biological knowledge. http://www.biw.kuleuven.be/m2s/cmpg/research/CSB Position 1: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is the causative agent of tuberculosis. It is estimated that a third of the world’s population has been infected by this pathogen, with approximately one new infection per second resulting in around 9 million new cases of active disease and 1.6 million deaths annually. The goal of the European project Systems Biology of MTb (SysteMTb) is to understand this organism better at the molecular level in conditions that are relevant for infection. Within this project large amounts of RNA-seq, CHIP-seq, metabolomics and proteomics data are being generated. The task of the postdoctoral fellow working to be appointed is to analyse and integrate these data to form hypotheses that can be tested in the laboratories of our collaborators. For more information about the project visit http://systemtb.eu or contact prof. Vera van Noort (vera.vannoort@gmail.com). In your application please include a CV with research experience and interests as well as a minimum of two letters of recommendation. Starting date: from 1st of October 2013 Position 2: A specific focus of the newly founded computational biology group will be Post Translational Modifications (PTMs). Inside the cell, proteins are the main entities responsible for carrying out molecular functions. These proteins can be modified by the addition of small moieties such as phosphate or acetyl groups. The modifications are called post-translational modifications (PTMs). These moieties change the properties of proteins and can thereby cause changes in what substrates they can bind to or what reactions they catalyse. In response to changes inside or outside an organism, a cell can quickly adapt by means of these PTMs in signalling networks. The PhD student will work on the analysis and integration of data to better understand the functions and mechanisms of PTMs. Requirements include being able to write scripts in perl/python, working with databases and basic molecular biology knowledge. Additional expertise such as working with LINUX, queuing systems and phylogenetic inference methods is certainly an advantage. For more information contact prof. Vera van Noort ( vera.vannoort@gmail.com). In your application please include a CV describing coursework, grades and previous research experience as well as a minimum of two letters of recommendation. Starting date: from 1st of October 2013 Position 3: We seek a PhD student who will work as a computational biologist in the interdisciplinary project NATAR. Understanding the relationship between an organism’s genotype and phenotype remains one of biology’s fundamental challenges. In the project two model organisms, budding yeast and *E. coli,*will be exploited to better understand two complex genetic traits: ethanol and high temperature tolerance*. *For both organisms both natural variation and the outcomes of experimental evolution will be correlated with phenotypes. The first challenge in the project will be to identify which of the many variants in these genomes have functional effects. Then we will try to facilitate unravelling complex interactions between alleles, for example through functional gene networks that are based on a combination of published data. An important part of the generated data that underlies this project consists of high-throughput sequencing of DNA and mRNA of populations and isolates. For answering specific questions data integration with other data sources will be needed as well as the application of specific machine learning techniques. Basic molecular biology knowledge and basic programming skills are a prerequisite for this position. Experience with high throughput sequencing analysis methods, machine learning, protein interaction databases, perl/python scripting or BioconductoR are preferred. For more information contact prof. Rob Jelier (r.jelier@gmail.com) or prof. Vera van Noort (vera.vannoort@gmail.com). In your application please include a CV describing coursework, grades and previous research experience as well as a minimum of two letters of recommendation. Starting date: from 1st of October 2013 -- Vera van Noort, PhD EMBL - Structural and Computational Biology Meyerhofstrasse 1 69117 Heidelberg Germany from October 2013: Centre of Molecular and Plant Genetics Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems (M2S) KU Leuven Kasteelpark Arenberg 20 3001 Leuven Belgium